Sara Hernandez

YIMBY Los Angeles proudly endorses Sara Hernandez for State Senate because she has the hands-on housing expertise and coalition-building experience California needs right now. As a land-use and housing attorney and LACCD trustee, Sara helped secure approvals for transit-oriented developments and delivered more than 300 homes for formerly unhoused Angelenos — demonstrating that she not only supports housing, she gets it built. Sara’s platform directly advances core YIMBY priorities: • Streamlining approvals to end endless delays • Legalizing duplexes and fourplexes in high-opportunity neighborhoods • Expanding social housing and community land trusts to ensure affordability long-term • Converting existing buildings into housing rather than leaving them vacant • Creating walkable, transit-connected neighborhoods where people can live near jobs and schools Her lived experience, immigrant roots, and career in public service show she understands why housing stability is foundational to economic opportunity. Sara has the policy depth and political courage to deliver housing at scale, prevent displacement, and build the equitable, abundant Los Angeles we know is possible.

Sara Hernandez is a trustee of the Los Angeles Community College District and is running for California State Senate District 26 after advancing from the June 2026 primary. She began her career as a middle school teacher in LAUSD, where she founded the nonprofit Helping Young People Excel (HYPE) to support low-income students through high school and into college, and later worked as a housing and environmental attorney and as a pro bono defender of asylum seekers. She holds a bachelor's degree from Duke University, a graduate degree from Loyola Marymount University, and a law degree from Loyola Law School.